Prakash Ambedkar Pitches Maratha Activist Jarange's Name From Jalna Seat For Lok Sabha Polls

It is to be noted that the demands by VBA to give a ticket to Jarange-Patil come shortly after the ruling BJP accused him of being an ‘agent’ of Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar, who remains a formidable ally of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) pitched Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil's name for for the Jalna Lok Sabha constituency. In a letter delivered to the alliance during its meeting on Wednesday, the Dalit leader outlined his demands, including the nomination of Jarange.

The VBA has also sent a list of 26 constituencies from which it claims it can fight, requesting that the MVA offer it seats from the list.

Ambedkar, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and the Congress high command will meet again soon to finalise seat-sharing arrangements.

Sharad Pawar Faction Says 'No Clues': 

After Prakash Ambedkar's proposal of the name of Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil for the Lok Sabha elections, NCP-Sharad Pawar faction leader Rohit Pawar said he was unaware of the development. Denying the fact, that MVA Consitutent and VBA Chief Ambedkar pressed for Jarange's name, Rohit Pawar said "I also have no clue about the demands of VBA".

Pawar told reporters, "I don't have any idea about the discussion that has taken place during the meeting. I also have no clue about the demands of Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA)." 

Despite not having a single MP in Maharashtra, Ambedkar, whose stance appears to have thrown a wrench in the MVA works, skipped the Opposition meeting on Wednesday while sending a list of specific demands to the core MVA parties (Congress, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar's NCP), which included nominating 15 OBC candidates and three religious minorities.

It is to be noted that the demand by VBA to give a ticket to Jarange-Patil came shortly after the ruling BJP accused him of being an ‘agent’ of Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction.

A report by The Hindu which cited observers said that the VBA’s latest set of demands is to put pressure on the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction and assert itself within the coalition.

While Ambedkar allied with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) early last year, he frequently expressed his dissatisfaction with the Congress's delay in incorporating the VBA into the opposition MVA coalition in Maharashtra.

Despite the VBA's induction last month, Ambedkar has remained ambivalent about whether his party is a constituent, stating that seat-sharing will be decided only after the three core MVA parties have completed their process.

Both the Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP have been wary of inducting the VBA because, in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Mr. Ambedkar's party, then allied with the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, wreaked havoc by fragmenting Ambedkarite-minority votes that had traditionally gone to the Congress and the NCP, resulting in defeats for Congress candidates in at least nine-ten Lok Sabha seats.